Movember: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Awareness of the disease has been elevated in recent years by the well-known men’s health charity, Movember.

From humble beginnings in 2003, Movember has grown to a global initiative. The premise is quite simple, men are urged to grow a moustache in November each year, to raise money and highlight men’s health issues around the world.

Movember is about more than cancer

According to its official website, Movember has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world. These projects include everything from prostate cancer to testicular cancer and mental health and suicide prevention.

Why the Mo, though?

It all started with two friends called Travis Garone and Luke Slattery meeting up for beers in an Australian bar. They started talking about recurring fashion trends with the moustache, a fixture in past decades, having all but disappeared. They joked about bringing it back and approached 30 other guys to help them do it.  

Inspired by a friend’s mother who was fundraising for breast cancer, they decided to make the campaign about men’s health and prostate cancer and charged each of the 30 friends $10 do grow their mo’s.

The rules were decided and Movember was officially a go.

Read more about this incredible story here. 

How many countries take part in Movember?

From the Gypsy Bar in Fitzroy, Melbourne in 2003, it quickly spread to New Zealand in 2004. By 2017, the following countries all took part in the Movember movement:

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hong Kong, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA.

How much money has been raised?

A global snapshot indicates that for the 2019 financial year, the Movember organisation managed to raise $82.8 million for men’s health.

Over the last 17 years, they have raised a staggering $994 million. 

Their financials are available online and should you wish to donate you can do so here.

What can you do to get involved?

Mo-bros and Mo-sisters all over the world are welcome to take part and raise funds for Movember.

The different ways are:

1. Growing a Mo – grow a moustache and start raising funds on your own 
2. Moving for men’s health – run or walk 60 km’s for the 60 men lost to suicide every hour across the world
3. Host a Mo-ment – host a real or virtual event; it’s all about having a good time for a good cause!

Conclusion

Whether you call it a mo, a stache, a soup-catcher or a nose-beard, November is the month to get one (judgement-free).

At the end of the day, it’s up to the mo-brothers and mo-sisters of the world to continue bringing awareness to men’s health awareness.

With a little effort and time, we can all help men live happier, healthier and longer lives.

Photo by Sean Stratton on Unsplash